CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Quarterfinals

South Division Rivals CSI & City Tech Win In Quarterfinals

#1 STATEN ISLAND 67, #8 CCNY 65    BOX SCORE
Jamaica, NY - Top-seeded Staten Island (20-5) survived a major scare as they were able to defeat #8 seeded City College (11- 14), the defending CUNYAC champions, 67-65, and advance to the semifinals of the 2004 CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Championships at York College. Senior center Neville Lestrade (Curtis/Staten Island, NY) grabbed Michael Stewart's (Westinghouse/Brookly, NY) missed jumper and was able to lay-in the game-winner with just three seconds remaining in the contest.

Stewart had given the Dolphins a 65-62 advantage with fifty-four seconds left after he converted a leaner in the lane. However, CCNY junior forward Darryl France (Van Buren/Queens, NY) nailed a three-point goal with thirty-six seconds left to even the score at 65-65. CCNY led 43-31 with 17:35 remaining as France converted a driving lay-up. Staten Island closed to within just two points, 45-43, on a John Smith (Bayside/Queens, NY) dunk with 13:20 remaining to complete a 12-2 run. The Dolphins were within a single point at 52-51 with 8:56 remaining as Smith completed a three-point play, however the Beavers scored four straight points to go out in front 56-51 with 6:40 left. Junior center Michael Nebavlakis (Roosevelt/Brooklyn, NY) gave the Dolphins their first lead since the early stages of the contest with 1:48 remaining, 63-62, after converting a lay-up.

CCNY raced out to a 36-28 halftime edge as the Beavers connected on seven of their fifteen three-point field goal attempts. France and junior guard Avain Gourdine (Manhattan Center/Northeast, NY) combined for 29 first-half points to spark CCNY. Staten Island was led by Nebavlakis, who scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Stewart, who went just 5-for- 25 from the floor, added 15 points. It marked the fourth straight season that the defending champion was defeated in the quarterfinals. France (4-for-9 three-point goals) scored a game-high 25 points to lead CCNY and Gourdine added 19 points (5- for-10 three-point goals).

"We struggled in every aspect of the game today,” said Staten Island head coach Tony Petosa. "I give my guys a lot of credit. We hung around and Neville hit the big shot when we needed it. Credit CCNY, they played a great game today.”

#5 CITY TECH 65, #4 BARUCH 63   BOX SCORE
Jamaica, NY - The #5 seeded New York City College of Technology hit nine 3-pointers to defeat #4 seeded Baruch College, 65-63, in the second men's quarterfinal game of the 2004 CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Championships played Saturday afternoon at York College in Jamaica, New York.

City Tech (15-10) led by as many as 12-points during the first half and 10-points late in the second half forcing Baruch to play catch up all afternoon. Senior forward Roger Redhead (South Shore/Brooklyn, NY) hit back-to-back three pointers for a 58-48 lead with 3:45 remaining.

"It's very satisfying to get our first win in the tournament as a senior college,” said Ray Amalbert, the head coach and Athletic Director at NYCCT, who became eligible for the championship last season after moving up from the junior college ranks in 1999. "It's a testament to the entire team to be able to win after Shacun Malave [the CUNYAC Player of the Year, who fouled out with 6:34 left in the contest]. It brings all of the successes I had at Hunter back to me.”

Baruch rallied to cut the lead to two points in the final seconds but a last-chance possession on a Jonathan Rosario (Erasmus/Brooklyn, NY) driving lay up missed at the buzzard giving Tech their first-ever victory in the men's CUNYAC Tournament. Jason Senior (Boys & Girls/Brooklyn, NY) led the way for Tech with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Malave scored 12 points, six rebounds, and 10 blocks. John Burzo (St. Peter's/Brooklyn, NY) led Baruch (15-11) with 18-points and Rosario added 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in a solid afternoon at the point guard position.

Baruch attempted more shots in the game and turned the ball over only nine times but they made only two of 16 threepointers compared to Tech who connected on nine of 30 in the game. City Tech will face # 1 seeded Staten Island on Tuesday evening in the first semifinal of the men's tournament. Tip off at York College is scheduled for 5:30 pm.

North Division Counterparts Set Up Semifinals Rematch

#3 LEHMAN 94, #6 HUNTER 79    BOX SCORE
Jamaica, NY  - The third game of the 2004 CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Championship between third-seeded Lehman College (20-6) and sixth-seeded Hunter College (10-16) played out like a script from the two regular season meetings between those teams. Lehman claimed a 94-79 victory behind five double-figure scorers and a double-digit rebounding advantage.

Hunter came out strong in the first few minutes of the game behind a solid barrage of jump shots. The Hawks took a 13-12 lead on a jumper by sophomore center Mark Johnston (Mount Vernon, NY) with 13:34 remaining in the period. It would prove to be their last lead of the night, however. Hunter managed to tie the score one more time at 17-17 on a Johnston lay-up with 11:48 to go before the Lightning kicked their run-and-gun offense into full gear.

Lehman would surge to a 19-point lead, 45-26, on a lay-up by junior forward Marc Domin (Bronx, NY) with a minute left in the half. The Lightning shot .465 (20-43) in the period while Hunter, shot just .297 (11-37). The Lightning started the second half quickly a built a 52-28 lead on a lay-up by senior guard Jonathan Rojas (Bronx, NY) at the 17:35 mark before the Hawks started to battle back. With junior point guard Andre Bagot (Bronx, NY) running Lehman's plays to precision, however, Hunter never got any closer than 14 points.

"We did today what we did against Hunter both times this season,” said Lehman head coach Steve Schulman. "The only thing is that we are better at the up and down game then they are because our bench is stronger.”

Rojas led the Lightning with 25 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Junior center Miguel Jorge (Bronx, NY) added 17 points while Bagot registered a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Hunter senior guard Ricardo Reimers (Queens Village, NY) led all players with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Johnston scored 14 points while senior guard Lorcan Precious (Westport, CT) contributed 11 points and six assists. Lehman advances to the semifinals for the second consecutive year. The Lightning will face John Jay in a semifinal game at York on Tuesday, February 24, at 7:30 PM.

#2 JOHN JAY 64, #7 YORK 53   BOX SCORE
Jamaica, NY - Second-seeded John Jay advanced to the semifinals of the 2004 CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Championship by defeating #7 seeded York, 64-53. The Bloodhounds will take on #2 seeded Lehman on Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM. at York College.

Leading 32-20 at halftime, John Jay scored the first seven points of the second half to extended their lead to 17 points, 37-20 with 17:04 remaining in the contest. The Bloodhounds stretched the lead to 23 points, 45-22, on a long three-point goal by junior guard Tim White (Molloy/Queens, NY). John Jay held York without a field goal for the first 7:26 of the second half until freshman forward Chris Roberts (Springfield Gardens/Jamaica, NY) converted a three-point play. York would cut the lead to 14 points, 58-44, with 4:20 remaining on basket by freshman center Terrin Johnson (Curtis/Brooklyn, NY), but the Cardinals could not cut the lead any further until the closing seconds of the game when they hit consecutive three-point goals.

After trailing early in the contest by an 8-7 margin, John Jay used a 10-2 spurt to grab a 17-10 advantage at the 9:32 mark. Senior guard Pablo Palma (Norman Thomas/New York, NY) scored six of his 11 first-half points during the run. York was within just four points, 21-17, with 6:10 remaining in the stanza, however the Bloodhounds outscored the Cardinals by an 11- 3 margin to close out the half.

"They played on adrenaline at the beginning of the game,” said John Jay head coach Mike Brown, the CUNYAC Coach of the Year. "But we just stepped up the defense and were able to control the game.”

Palma scored a game-high 18 points and White (nine rebounds) scored 12 points, and in the process, eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for his career.

Junior forward Michael Thompson (Albany/Jamaica, NY) scored 15 points and had a team-high 10 rebounds. Senior guard Jesse Cotton (Canarsie/Brooklyn, NY) added 10 points.